Jailed HDP Co-chair Demirtaş refuses to attend hearing in handcuffs

Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been behind bars since November, refused to attend a court hearing on Friday when prison authorities wanted to take him to the courtroom in handcuffs.

Demirtaş, who is currently in a prison in Edirne province, was supposed to attend a hearing at an Ankara court for the first time in 245 days since his incarceration. However, the jailed HDP co-chair decided to attend the hearing through the IT Voice and Image System (SEGBİS) from Edirne Prison in order not to be handcuffed while being transferred to the Ankara court.

Demirtaş was arrested along with a number of other HDP deputies on terror charges on Nov. 4, 2016.